Sunday, July 7, 2013

A Night At The Drive-In

We finally made it to the Bengie's Drive-in last night after trying for several nights, and we had a blast! We had originally planned to go last Wednesday, but there were storms brewing and we decided not to chance. It's not a whole lot of fun sitting at the drive-in in the rain. Especially in a convertible. We decided to try again on Friday, and we drove all the way out to Middle River, MD. We were about a mile from the theater when traffic came to a halt and crawled the rest of the way. I guess the nice evening weather combined with the Holiday brought out a big crowd, the biggest we had experienced in the four years we had been going. The movie had already started before we got to the entrance, so we decided not to go. Instead, we stopped at the Happy Days Diner on old US 40 for a terrific Baltimore diner experience.

We tried again last night, this time by arriving much earlier. We went to our church's Saturday evening (5:30p) service, then drove straight out to the drive-in. We were 45 minutes earlier than the night before, and there was still a line to get in, though it was much shorter since we were so much earlier. We found a good spot to view the movie, then we headed for the overly crowded snack bar. The normal full-service line was out the door, so we went to the express line, instead. You can't get as much of the menu at the express line, so we couldn't get the burgers we had planned to get. Instead, we got a couple of foot long hot dogs, drinks, and hot baked chocolate chip cookies.

We arrived back at our car just as the evening's announcements started. The owner of the Bengie's always runs through the "house rules", which too many patrons refuse to read prior to getting out of their cars. No bare feet, no recording equipment (pictures), no headlights, one space per car, etc. I'm amazed that so many people can't figure this stuff out. These are pretty basic, and common sense, to boot. Then it was showtime, starting with the singing of our National Anthem.

The movies last night were MONSTERS UNIVERSITY and THE LONE RANGER, with IRON MAN 3 rounding out the evening. We ended up staying for only the first two. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY was very fun. My daughter loved it. It's the sequel from Pixar/Disney to MONSTERS INC., featuring the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal. It's actually a prequel, showing the characters when they attended college. It was jarring to see the change in the John Goodman character, James "Sully" Sullivan, from the "good guy" hero to a bit of a cocky jerk in this movie, but I understand the point they were making with the changes to the characters over the course of the movie. It was very entertaining.

THE LONE RANGER was a little different. It was entertaining, as well, but it definitely has its faults. I was disappointed with the casting of Johnny Depp as Tonto, a Comanche Indian. Depp's job seemed to be to inject as much comedy into the movie as possible, and he certainly delivers, but I really felt it was disrespectful not to use an actual American Indian in the role. There are many such actors that could pull it off, but I realize the movie studios want to bring in money, so using a big name achieves that. Army Hammer as the title character works for me, but he was played just a bit too comically and sort of a doofus. Again, not showing respect for the original character gives the movie a completely different tone, and it becomes too much of a comedy than a Western. Given the plot and other characters, the movie would've worked much better as a straight Western. Another plot point that bothered me is the use of the US Calvary as being inept and corrupt, and their only job seems to be to massacre the Indians. As someone who has a small percentage of Native American blood in my veins, I'll be one of the first to admit that American Indians got a raw deal during the founding and building of the United States, but making the Calvary out as the bad guys repeatedly in the modern Westerns gets old.

After two movies, it was very late and we headed home. The drive is about 40 minutes for us, even with non-existent traffic in the early hours after midnight, and upon arriving home, we went straight to bed. I looked at the clock just as I turned out my bedside lamp and it was 3:30am! I was very happy to be able to sleep in late.

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Favorite Quotations

Matthew 16:23 - "But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.'"

Isaiah 41:10 - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

1 Peter 5:10 - "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

1 Thessalonians 4:13 - "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope."

Titus 2:7-8 - "In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."

John 15:13 - "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Joshua 24:15 - "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

James 1:2-4 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Luke 2:14 - "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

"Don't judge a man by where he is, because you don't know how far he has come." - C.S. Lewis

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence." - George Washington

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein

"You don't lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The future starts today, not tomorrow." -- Pope John Paul II

"No man is a failure who has friends." - Clarence the Angel, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

"Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody. It's a good life; enjoy it." - Jim Henson